Parrotlets
The smallest parrots kept, and they have no idea of it: a parrotlet will square up to a bird ten times its size. Quieter than a conure and just as busy.
Overview
Parrotlets are the smallest true parrots kept, about 25 to 35 g and under six inches, and they behave like an Amazon that has been shrunk rather than like a finch that has been upgraded. Everything a large parrot does, a parrotlet does at a tenth the scale.
They live 15 to 20 years, which is a long time for a bird this small, and they are quiet enough for a flat, which is the main reason people choose them over a conure.
Temperament
Fearless, opinionated and territorial. A parrotlet is not intimidated by anything, including birds ten times its size, and that confidence is the main hazard it faces.
They bond intensely to one person when kept singly and are prone to becoming a one person bird that bites everyone else. Kept in pairs they bond to each other. Two males will fight, sometimes seriously, and a pair that has bonded and then been separated does not simply move on.
Care and grooming
A pellet base with finely chopped vegetables and a small seed mix. Their size means small portions and it also means a missed day matters far more than it would for a large parrot, since a bird this size has almost no reserve.
Weight is the health measure worth tracking. A gram scale and a weekly weight will show a problem in a parrotlet a week before anything is visible, and a bird this small can go from unwell to critical within a day.
Living and exercise
24 by 18 by 24 inches, which is generous for the bird and appropriate for how much it moves, with plenty of chewable material.
They are quiet by parrot standards, chattering rather than screaming, which makes them one of the few genuine parrots that suits shared housing. They still need daily time out and they still need something to do, because a bored parrotlet plucks exactly as a bored macaw does.
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